Father was a long-time National MP for Miramar, brother-in-law is Mad Max Bradford (uber-Neo-Liberal end of the Bolger/Shipley Governments), sister Rosemary was a Wellington City Councillor (in the Prendergastian Right faction) a decade or so ago, while younger sister Nicola is a current Wellington City Councillor very much on the Thatcherite Right (recently penned a Dominion Post opinion piece on why the very idea of a living wage is abhorent. We don’t want those absolutely horrid little working class fellows getting above their station).
All this positivity in the portrayal of illness or disability may have helped the government with its welfare reforms. It feeds the notion that there is hardly any condition, no matter how severe, that can prevent a person from working, and the inference that those who aren’t working are using their illness to freeload off the taxpayer. We are now in the position that people with terminal cancer can be forced to do unpaid work or lose their benefits.
It’s about England and how the conservatives there are attacking welfare but we’re seeing the same things happening here.
“You put in a hard day’s work, you expect a fair day’s pay,” says Mr Te Amo. “If you don’t get paid, you jump up and down. I would not commit any of our subbies to come here and work for us if I didn’t think that I could get their money at the end of the day.”
Brand new car park ripped up.
The comments on this article and the Facebook link are generally supportive of this contractor standing up for his subs and himself after a dispute over costing with an developer in Christchurch. These disputes happen everyday and it seems the public are pretty aware that contractors and subbies are being shafted.
Ripping it up is the worst thing he could have done, he will get hammered for reinstatement.
The only thing you can do is get a letter drafted saying you will cease work until such time as all outstanding payments are up to date. Generally for Subbies at the end of a job the tactic is very effective as the threat of liquidated damages usually means payment is forthcoming.
Been there and done that with the recently demised nationwide main contractor got the ‘don’t expect to work for us again’ speech but got paid and as it turned out good riddance.
I do note it is interesting that it is a dispute over ‘how the job was costed.’ You have to hope he didn’t make a tendering error or similar and has painted himself into a corner. Having tendered a few projects for new countdown stores previously I do recall them having some interesting fine print and from memory at least one was a Gross Maximum Price tender where basically there is no going back for additional funds regardless.
Obviously the subcontractor agreement between the parties was less than black and white if there is a dispute of this nature as it seems more complex than outstanding progress claims..
Because there was no analysis of the reason for the dispute, I was more interested in the effect the dispute had on Mr Te Amo and the public reaction to it.
The reaction is bigger than the dispute, almost to the level of one of those little tipping points where public dissatisfaction spills over into something much more, and depending on how part 2 plays out on the tv, it may do just that.
No one likes when a small contractor gets beaten up by a bigger one and it happens all to often. Especially when it comes to withholding final payments and retentions for as long as absolutely possible while the money sits in a bank account gathering interest. Doubt outside of some internet outrage much will come of it and even that may dissipate depending on the nuts and bolts of the dispute.
What will happen is regardless of the dispute he is going to get hammered for reinstatement costs and any associated liquidated damages.
I would be in favour in a law that that required all payments, retentions etc being held in trust.
Once a claim has been made and approved by the client the trust pays the monies directly to the various parties rather than the current system which relies on the benevolence of the head contractor to pay subcontractors when due.
builders and designers now have a 10 year personal liability following any building they work opn. Developers dont.
So developers will continue to open a company, borrow money, draw salaries, build stuff, take the profit, close down and move on.”
Builders and designers can lose the house.
Change that law, make developers personally liable for ten years AND any trust they hold a beneficial interest in, and watch the cowboy developers drop like flies. leaving us with developers with well earned reputations for quality work and hiring.
So simple, but seemingly beyond the wit of our politicians… I wonder why (rhetorical)>
I won’t provide a link, but excuse my ignorance – who in hell is Jojo Maddren.
Should we know? Should we care?
But his/her political savvy appears to be non existent, yet she/he somehow gets opinion space on Stuff today … If you haven’t read it, don’t bother, – he/she is shallow as.
There now I hope I haven’t raised your curiosity – I probably shouldn’t have shared this.
On the other hand, if she/he is a captain of industry or someone who is believed to be of import, we should be concerned at the lack of intellect …
Yeah, spotted that, too, ffloyd. I presume this is a way of using a possessive adjective for one person whose sex is unknown, rather than ‘his/her’.
I would put quotation marks around the word ‘thoughts’ because there was not a high level of intellectual input in that reader’s remarks, especially in the over-blown praise of the PM.
At least it wasn’t a regular journo guilty of that hagiography of secular Saint John.
They refer to “the poor old Kiwi battler”.
I can’t say I’ve heard about the kiwi battler. Have heard about the “aussie battler”.
According to google and bing, “Jojo Maddren” exists nowhere in the internet but this article and talk about the article.
Which suggests to me the the article is an astroturfing construct by aussie marketing contractors. Which also suggests to me that it would have follow-up support in the comments as part of its release. So it’s quite possible that the few supporters of jjm are also paid marketers, and that the only real nzers offering their unpaid opinions think “jjm” is full of shit.
She may be a nonentity but oddly enough she puts her finger exactly on the argument Labour/Greens will have to counter in the upcoming election.
Meanwhile not getting many headlines is the fact that dairy prices have fallen 18% in 2 months, where dairy represents 30% of NZ’s exports. Here’s a link to this:
I agree that Labour needs a greater sense of urgency, especially since National already have it. National supporters are not complacent – they fear losing what they have gained under National, and lobby for them quite naturally. The older guy in the site shed, for instance, who has about five rentals and is thinking about taking an early retirement, saying authoritatively, “That bloody Cunliffe is useless.” Some of the South Auckland ministers who say they will go National, have quite possibly been treated to a deep-and-meaningful or two about how we must protect the morals of the young from the mad lefties, and so on.
While the policies Labour has released seem fine, we do not have anything so far that would give us that kind of immediate and direct leverage. I will hassle people to vote for them anyway, since I want to see the back of this government and I also think that the more members in caucus, the less traction there is for the Labour right. But it would be a whole lot easier if it was more obvious to people that their lives would be better under Labour – like the site shed guy in relation to National.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
That man could probably be persuaded to vote for Mana or the Greens.
Someone like that man may not view the Greens or Mana as being able to do all that much to help – Labour is still seen by many as the party that is able to take effective action on behalf of beleaguered people. The big question is whether or not it has the will to do so, and to what degree. The young and the politically engaged seem more inclined, on the whole, to go for the Greens or Mana.
A passing observation. When I saw the TV1clip on TV last night my first impression was oh god… Waitakere Man having a red-neck moment. Then I watched the TV3 clip online and I saw a very hurt man – a man who perhaps has lost his job through no fault of his own and has been badly treated ever since. He’s at the end of his tether and I would like to see David Cunliffe approach him (if he can be identified) and listen to his story.
I haven’t seen either of the news clips of him but the Unemployment isn’t working was a jibe against Labour in the 1980s and that he also said that the “unions were dead and you killed them” (paraphrased) which makes me think he’s an old time Labour voter and he’s really, really pissed off.
And Cunliffe should extract a winning line (good luck) from T.I.N.A. Parker for the stupid policy of increasing the age for superannuation ….. the framing has been set by Natz already and is being disseminated by Tory Woteva:
“Raising the pension age has turned into a story about making hard-working Kiwis work longer so a Labour government can spend more of their hard-earned taxes, according to National’s narrative.”
Tried to interpret the “settings” logie. Seems to be a soapbox where anyone can say what would get their vote. The Jo Maddren piece is pointless really. No issue other than he/she will vote National.
Maybe they are students? Hence Assignments.
Are Kiwi women ‘lardos’? We want to hear your thoughts on the weight of New Zealand’s women.
Reading Jojo’s pfaff was one thing, then reading the comments, then reading that Stuff are basically sponsoring prejudice in NZ. Not a great start to the day.
Introducing Stuff Nation was a master stroke of the Stuff propaganda machine.
They say they are letting the public have an open voice in the MSM and everyone can contribute. Hard to argue with that and best to ignore the often right leaning regularity of published opinion because what makes the Stuff Nation contributions so interesting is they usually have comments open.
Over the 2 years (?) of this feature being active, the comments section on these pieces are often a lot more interesting and more well informed when compared to comments (and articles) elsewhere in the ‘newspaper’.
🙂 There does seem to be some similarities now you mention it.
… but does Slater know that many words?
I only ask because many of the comments are longer than Slater’s articles
A recent “The Economist” (The Economist Jan 18 2014) has an article on “Corporate Welfare” a peculiar type of aid to the movie and television business which consists of USA states making interest free loans and tax credits to production companies.
Louisiana for example have a 40% Tax Credit available, while New York has a budget of $420m dedicated to film making.
The problem is how do you calculate the benefit a dollar spent on film as opposed one spent on other normal state services e.g. roads.
The article noted that Pinewood once a home to major British productions is opening a 288 acre facility in Georgia USA, citing its “great crew base” One would imagine the great crew come at a cheaper rate than back home in UK . The article further states that independent research finds that tax credits for film makers, serves mainly to help film makers.
One study in Louisiana found that for every dollar the state received in revenue from film production it spent $7.29 on credits. Furthermore jobs created by productions do not last.
Asking why the schemes are so popular they opine that partly because politicians like having their photo being taking with films stars.
Interesting that Michigan thought that pouring money into film makers pockets would offset job losses in the car industry. It didn’t and the project has been scaled back.
One wonders about the NZ reports that lauded the pouring of money into Hollywood as being so good for NZ. Of course I accept that our Prime Minister would never be so facile as to want his photo taken with film stars – would he.
For those interested in The Louisiana study you can find it here. Well worth reading Film Funding
Ha ha I laughed when I read this in this mornings NZH, there will be a few MP’s noses outof joint. I would not be surprised if there were no chairs for people to lounge around in, typical Matt it’s all hands on deck. Big fan of McCarten I love it!
So what’s with The Standard these days? Over the last couple of weeks, most of the content seems to be syndicated from other blogs, with only Mickey coming along with the same laughably wrong analysis he helps Cunliffe with and karol over analysing everything as a neoliberal conspiracy.
I would have thought that in an election year, the standardistas would be lining up to try take the govt down. Instead… Silence. And linking to those actually with something to say.
Maybe the contributors here have to work unlike Slater and Farrar who one way or another are paid to blog?
Kind of a relfection of the views each blog represents. The Standard has people who have to work for a living and can only champion causes in spare time, while KB and WO are actually well financed organs of politically aligned well-heeled personages? Just a thought. It does mean Open Mike is well used, and general commenters can draw attention tot heir own stuff.
maybe at WO and KB it’s very important to keep feeding the info from the top so the readers know what to “think” each day?
The Standard has always survived on voluntary efforts from people with lives and jobs. If only the left had the same resources that Slater clearly enjoys …
Awww i love your blog envy Tracey or might i suggest infactuation the way you continue to bring up Slater, almost as amusing as your h ate filled John Key attacks
Yet you still find the time to drop by and regale us with your “witticisms” Baron… Scoot back off to blubber boy where the quantity and “variety” of articles is clearly more to your liking.
Stephanie Rodgers has written a number of post, and there have also been posts from Lynn, Bill, Bunji, Mike Smith and Geoff.
Some of the Notices and Features have been put up by ts authors as well, but it’s not as obvious as it used to be because the syndicated blogs are also put up under that login.
I’ve been enjoying the syndicated posts. Baron, not sure why you think that ts should be meeting your needs, but by all means keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.
Yes, well we don’t have the habit of KB and WO of simply quoting newspaper and other blogs with the off “indeed” interspersed. That appears to be the majority of their content
The posts on the site have always waxed and waned depending on who has time and capability to write. Over the past year, a number of previously active authors have been pulled into new roles where they don’t have time to write or where it is inadvisable for them to blog or where I consider that they have a conflict of interest. It takes time and effort to bring new authors on.
I’ve been busy. So has everyone else. Fortunately I have about 9 weeks of available holiday before september and Lyn is using most of hers up on film related stuff (that I avoid). My last projects is pretty well through both release and distribution. So that is probably going to change over the winter because I’m planning on taking most of it off to concentrate on this and a few other minor projects..
But as you say, we have a number of other sites that allow us to showcase their work. So we do in any area where none of our authors has covered the same issues or where it has been done from a different perspective. In the case of most of those sites, there are few or no comments normally. Are you saying that they shouldn’t be commented on here? That is what this site is for…
I have had a reply from the standards committee for media works over the complaint re the 5 March “3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. ”
Complaint was under fairness and accuracy.
They do go through the detail comprehensively.
They end up with:”The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint.”
Well they did consider the complaint and since they say that they had received complaints (plural) so maybe Paddy might be a bit more circumspect in the future. Maybe.
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm.
The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
(“Although the helicopter trust agreed to drop further legal battles, it hasn’t dropped its complaint to Controller and Auditor-General Lyn Provost asking her to investigate the operations of the funding board, going back to 2009.”)
Don’t hold your breath waiting for NZ Auditor-General Lyn Provost to do anything – that’s my experience and considered opinion:
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into why New Zealand Auditor-General Lyn Provost did not disclose that she was a shareholder in Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd at the time she declined to conduct an urgent investigation into the failure of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand to carry out ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre (Bill) 2013.
Petition number: 2011/101
Presented by: Denis O’Rourke
Date presented: 12 March 2014
Referred to: Finance and Expenditure Committee
Why have there not been any MAN ON THE MOON headlines about this development – given that New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – (and all that garbage) ?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
This is how you deal with a conflict of interest… and note that even when you do it this way, it doesn’t look good… so imagine how it looks if you make no declaration
I see the National Party run media has completley crossed the line now.
National were not happy with the way Amy Adams clear conflict of interest was reported. So they have gone straight in for the kill and muzzled the media, to the extent of completley turning the story around.
This is the kind of stuff you would expect in North Korea. But not here in New Zealand.
If you care about press freedom and civil rights in New Zealand, you must vote Green in September.
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm. The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
That’s a really slippery standards check by TV3. Three significant bits, that really don’t address the ways the structure of the item, and the decision to make it newsworthy, are biased against Cunliffe in the way he will be seen by a large number of viewers:
1) dancing on a pin over the meaning/implication of the word “forced’
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
That’s totally misleading. It suggested someone focred Cunliffe to make the declaration when he didn’t want to – rather than chaning it himself when he became aware of the issues.
2)a) The use of the word “if” – how many viewers would take notice of its implications.
b) ommiting to tell viewers that the money wasn’t evenly divided is misleading the viewers:
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000.
3) failure to mention Nats missing the same deadline because Cunliffe’s Trusts issue had already become newsworthy – they fail to acknowledge that it was Gower’s (and others) previous news beat-ups that had led to this becoming “newsworthy”; they also fail to take into account that the two kinds of trusts (Cunliffe’s personal trusts, and the Labour leadership primaries trust), are two different things. They are misleading in connecting them.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
I will keep you updated re my complaints about The Herald.
I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way. It must be a pain for them to have to respond (even if the “win”). And at some level if they keep getting these complaints they will think twice, simply for the nuisance factor of being complained against.
My complaints to the Herald were not responded to, so I went to the Press Council and they were informed by the Herald my email was “overlooked”. They asked for the chance to respond and guess what, I have heard nothing. Another 10 days runs out today at 5pm, so back to the PC.
“I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way”
I completely agree. If they get enough complaints then they will take more notice. That those complaints are being published and talked about on social media should make them take notice too.
Every day we hear stories of how people can not live on the benefit. Today you’re hearing that literally thousands can not only live on it but can afford to travel overseas as well.
Can’t live on it, can’t actually afford to look for work on it for that matter. This would indicate that the people going overseas while on the benefit are probably getting their money from somewhere or someone else. Perhaps they won the trip in competition.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
Yes relative of mine kept getting jobs and then contracts would run out and he would have to start the job hunt again. Another relative gave that person money to go and check things out in OZ.
They have had no trouble getting work over there.
Surely though are beneficiaries not allowed to go overseas? Have a break from looking for work. Most of us are allowed a holiday.
Many families now live in OZ and likely to pay for their down on their luck relative to have a break.
I personally think this thing of benefits cut for not notifying Winz etc, is against human rights.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
This is simply a variation of Reagan’s classic “welfare Queens all drive Cadillacs” meme. Fucking Tories know the right buttons to push and keep pushing them.
I cannot believe the propaganda levels today. That Bennett travel story was in the Herald, on Stuff, on Prime, on TV3 – I did not check out TV1. TV3 obediently reiterated the claim that people insist they can’t live on benefits but still manage to travel, along with the alleged $10 mill being saved by cutting their benefits. Then there was the TV3 story that South Auckland is going National, based on three individuals who said they had switched. Meanwhile, Stuff tells us that we are the most progressive people in the whole wide world. Are we going to have to endure this right through to the election, for God’s sake?
TV One gave two sides to the issue. Comment from an Auckland Action Against poverty spokesperson saying it’s more beneficiary bashing. Comment from Metiria Turei saying they are allowed up to 28 days abroad for special circumstances.
TV one also reported that about 4,488 people got their benefits cancelled because they failed to notify WINZ they were back in the country – that that brings the total figure down to 1,500 – what else?
I will have to start turning to TV1 – that at least sounds somewhat balanced. At the same time I’d like to know why Bennett’s press releases so frequently become news – these beneficiary bashing “news” items seem to appear with clockwork regularity.
I have heard that an older woman wanting to travel to Oz to see children was refused permission as she should be here in NZ looking for work. This shows the hypocritical lying attitude of right wingers who are always baying about family being vital, fathers being included, and so on, yet really do not care at all about the strength of families and their supportive human interaction.
It’s just the money involved in government helping other people’s families not exclusively their own. It would be better spent on being invested in their own where it would ensure they would grow up well educated and schooled in all the arts of being socially impressive so they can be the new elite.
Could it be that a sizeable portion are…looking for work?
Some will also be going over for health reasons, or to visit family. Visiting family might not sound like a reasonable decision, but what if you were a refugee who was isolated in the community, suffering from PTSD, and dreadfully homesick?
The seething mass that used to be compassion in this country is a distant memory.
China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang in May 2013 acknowledged that “uncivilised behaviour” by its citizens abroad was harming the country’s image. He cited “talking loudly in public places, jaywalking, spitting and wilfully carving characters on items in scenic zones”. Destination countries have been easing visa restrictions to attract more tourists from China, but reports have emerged of complaints about etiquette.
Global tourism is being driven by mainland visitors, their numbers surging annually by double-digit percentages. Chinese are expected to become the biggest outbound market this year, overtaking Americans and Germans with 95 million trips and US$110 billion in spending. But while they are being welcomed with open arms by governments, they are not always as warmly greeted by locals. As in Hong Kong, manners and habits are criticised most…..
a widely circulated video of a Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee member in Yunnan province smashing an airport check-in counter in a fit of rage, the internet is awash with postings of how poorly behaved mainlanders can be when travelling
New Zealand topped the rankings across a wide range of measures–according to the Social Progress Index 2014 which ranks 132 countries based on their social and environmental performance. The result was described as “exceptional” by Michael Green, Executive Directive of the Social Progress Imperative.
Key New Zealand findings:
Of the 54 indicators measured within each country to make up the overall Index ranking, New Zealand scores top spot in no less than 20, across a wide variety of different measures. These include tying in first place globally on measures of homicide (less than 2 per 100,000 people); levels of corruption and religious tolerance.
Strengths:
H New Zealand scores strongly on the ‘Access to Basic Knowledge’ component finishing 2nd globally. Included in this is secondary school enrollment on which New Zealand scores top.
H New Zealand also finishes top ranked on ‘Personal Freedom and Choice’, owing to impressive results on religious freedoms and freedom over life choices.
H On ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’ New Zealand scores fourth globally, thanks partly to its high tolerance for immigrants and religious tolerance.
H On the ‘Access to Information and Communications’ measure New Zealand scores 7th globally, which is a relatively strong result compared to countries of a similar GDP. The result owes partly to an exceptionally high rate of mobile telephone subscriptions (more than 110 for every 100 people) as well as ranking number one globally for press freedoms.
Other findings
According to the researchers New Zealand doesn’t have any specific weaknesses.
Maybe they didn’t look very closely in some of the political, and everything is relative, but this is a good pat on the back for the quality of life in New Zealand.
This is a new measure so it’s not possible to compare with previous years or centuries..
Social Progress Index launched to enable better understanding of worldwide progress and growth
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance. Measuring a country’s social progress outcomes the Index identifies a number of areas in which New Zealand is performing strongly compared to countries with a comparable GDP per capita, including on ‘Personal Rights’, ‘Water and Sanitation’ and ‘Personal Freedom and Choice’
The top five countries are:
1. New Zealand
2. Switzerland
3. Netherlands
4. Iceland
5. Norway
Of course every country could be going backwards and we’re just deteriorating less, but this has to be a very positive accolade for New Zealand.
Just a pity then that our economic policies are so regressive. But the Herald and you won’t focus on that.
Change some social policies, but ramp up the neoliberal doctrine so NZ is rapidly becoming one of the most unequal countries in the OECD.
For 30 years NZers have been encouraged to turn away from looking at what’s been happening in the economic sphere..look at how the nuclear stand off puffed up our chests so much we forgot to worry what Roger Douglas was doing to the country.
But the owners of the Herald and many others in the media have benefited from the looting of the country and so continue to provide the propaganda that NZ is wonderful country to live in.
It may be for you Pete….but it’s not for the 285 000 kids in poverty.
In a Stuff article, the Greens are reported to have pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of the Index, and NZ’s scores. For instance, they pointed out, there are some gaps in the data included in the Index
The result was particularly impressive in the context of New Zealand’s “relative economic weakness” compared to countries that finished much lower on the SPI, Green said.
“People always say it’s going to be the Scandinavians who come top, and they have done well,” Green said.
“But what’s striking about New Zealand’s result is that it has only the 25th GDP in the world. Per capita, that’s half of Norway’s. On half the income, NZ can show higher social progress than Norway.”
New Zealand did not have any specific weaknesses on the SPI, Green said, but its lowest scoring indicator – at 115th globally – was obesity.
New Zealand also ranked poorly in suicide – 76th globally.
Green said the project highlighted where there were data gaps, such as violence against women.
“One of the things we want to highlight as part of this report is that we’re using the best available data that’s globally comparable. But there are data gaps.”
SPI allowed individual countries to benchmark themselves against peer countries, both at the level of individual indicators as well as overall.
“If you want to be a successful country, it’s so much more than economic growth,” Green said.
“If we drive our world on GDP alone, we’re going to miss so much.”
And the last couple of sentences support some of the points I made in my Rogernomics post today.
There’s always weaknesses in indexes, and also in countries, but its worth striving to remain on top of the index.
I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.
As Greens say (and I’m sure have said before) there are things as important as economic well being.
“I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.”
I agree that violence must be addressed and it is all violence. The expression of violence is subtle and gross, obvious and hidden and should be intolerable in our society – but instead it is rampant and unrepentant. Once again we must look within ourselves to get to grips with that one.
Weaknesses: Basic needs, ranks 18th. (This includes affordable housing and electricity etc).
We can be grateful for our largely state-funded health and education system for a strong foundations of well-being score – the other top nations are similarly blessed with public provision. Our relatively progressively-minded population seems to account for the best score in the ‘Opportunity’ section, imo.
It’s also a problem creating checklists, without showing how things like (UN) affordable housing and power impact on people’s alility to take up opportunities in other areas of their lives.
Yes, It has no ranking for economic opportunity, from the looks of it. We also rank poorly on availability of affordable housing but high on private property rights – these affect people is quite different ways in terms of opportunities.
I also have a problem with the relative weighting of the variables. We don’t rank very well on ecosystem sustainability and the more I look into the health scores some are actually really poor. Life expectancy ranking probably pulls the score up.
He confirmed there had been nothing further from the department since the issues paper, adding that “it is being looked at; it is definitely on the radar”.
This does nothing to allay the suspicion that the Government is preparing to legislate to deny GST refunds to bodies corporate with leaky buildings.
But that would be tantamount to saying: “You were legally entitled to register and claim those refunds. As soon as we realised that we stopped you from doing so by administrative fiat and now we are changing the law so you can’t.”
Quite apart from that odious retrospectivity, it would raise difficult boundary issues.
No, I don’t normally read Brain Fallow but he’s got a point here – is National trying to put through a nasty bit of unannounced legislation to stop a few people from claiming back the GST that they’re entitled to?
Thanks Karol, missed it. You can’t blame me for being happy to live in the best country in the world. Least corrupt, most socially advanced, rock star economy. Wonderful.
I hope you realise that many of the ‘socially advanced’ aspects were courtesy of left-wing initiatives? (Homosexual law reform and gay marriage – Labour and Louisa Wall; access to ‘advanced education’ (i.e., interest free student loans and student allowances) – Labour; public health and education systems – Liberal/Labour; public sanitation and water provision – public sector/local government, etc., etc.).
The clue to just what aspects of our society put us on top is the company we keep up there – once again it’s the Scandinavian countries (+ Switzerland) with their – still – more social democratic policies than anywhere else in the ‘western’ world.
Are you appreciative of those social democratic policies or do you support their undermining, as is the general policy direction of the current government?
It’s very odd that right wingers are trumpeting this result given that most of the means for rising up the ranks amount to left wing policy prescriptions.
The areas we do poorly on (obesity, suicide, environmental sustainability) are where we have succumbed to the modern consumerist and exploitative world.
In a supreme irony, the one ‘right wing’ mantra (private property rights) which NZ scores high in, is currently being bulldozed in Christchurch.
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance
How amusing that this Porter fellow who had so much to do in helping us reach the top of the slide that we are now burning our bums on in our downwards direction should have designed this index and finds we come out so high. Which doesn’t fit with the observable signs around us or the statistics and known facts of our situation.
I wonder how Japan would rate if it had been studied before Fukushima, and now? Which couldn’t happen as it is all new. But it would be a test of reality. Our reality indicates that we are like a theme park for the visitors to exclaim about, while we all wear masks with smiles. The occasional attack or death of a tourist is hushed up, the facts can’t get in the way of the alluring myths.
Yep, I thought the same thing when I saw that article.
The index did not measure pesky little details like unemployment or income inequality. What a joke.
Meanwhile, the top 0.1% of Americans doubled their share of wealth since the 1960s to over 20%: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231645
“The Green Party has launched legislation that will see a compulsory code of conduct brought in for New Zealand supermarkets and a fairer, more transparent system for New Zealand suppliers.”
Wow. Am about to have dinner and I think I like my greens even more 🙂
Funding is going to be lessened then withdrawn from long-term biosecurity research into the fruit fly etc. I think it has been going on too long for the government, which we know has a very instant gratification focus.
The facts are that scientists have made some breakthrough findings about fruit fly types (I’m not scientific but at least I do know that bio-s is important).
However they applied for funding and had their names on the wheel which was revolved and the pointer came down on someone else’s project. So these scientists are just bad losers and moaning on because they lost. Like they think they are important or something.
The Bio-Protection Research Centre, based at Lincoln University in Canterbury, has been told that it will receive no more money from the Tertiary Education Commission.
The grants are worth about $3.4 million a year to the research centre.
Bay of Plenty orchardist Chris Dunn says decisions like this are an example of the Government trying to give up responsibility for bio-security. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240643/fruit-fly-'key-reason'-for-funding-research
Another fruit fly found at Whangarei. There is a big marina there, popular stopping place and presumably there will be attention to this possible site of incursion? http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240634/labour-wants-some-fruit-from-australia-banned
Labour wants some fruit from Australia banned The male Queensland fruit fly was found on Tuesday in a surveillance trap in the harbour suburb of Parihaka. It was caught just 400 metres from where another was found in January this year….
Labour’s spokesman for primary industries Damien O’Connor said the latest incursion shows there is a pathway for the pest into Whangarei that has yet to be identified and the Government’s lack of action is putting the horticulture sector in grave danger.
I heard Sue Moroney on the radio trying to counter the story from Paula Bennett’s side regarding the people on benefits taking trips overseas and having their benefits suspended.
I had a couple of concerns
1) Her talking to the issue gave the issue legs. The radio was making a story of how Labour had responded to it
2) Labour was clearly on the wrong side of that issue in terms of public opinion unless it was willing to come out and go “We’d hit them harder!”. Defending Beneficiaries rights to have their trips overseas paid for by relatives is something the Greens can do, but Labour has too many current or potential working class supporters who haven’t been overseas for years because they can’t afford it.
3) She had a bit of difficulty staying on message in her response to the story. It is a tricky one because this is a straight forward trap set by the National strategy team – but you have to be prepared.
Regarding the social progress story I think claiming it as Labour’s is an OK way to go – it is also a good point in that these things are not things you turn on a dime – they are the result of decades of policies and other factors.
A more subtle way to do that is to highlight how NZ and the more socialist Nordic countries always top these studies instead of the USA etc.
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that “the future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.” Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trump’s emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasn’t stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his “yes” speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Interior of Auckland South Men’s Prison.Getty Images Prisons are not colourful places. Typically, they are grey or some variation of a monochrome colour scheme. But increasingly, ...
FICTION1Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Interesting to note that the author of the biggest-selling New Zealand novel in Waitangi Week is Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāti Kahungunu).2 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (Kāwai 1) by Monty Soutar (David ...
Remembering the renowned New Zealand writer, who died on February 5, 2025. The Stopover When the trout rise like compassion It is worth watching when the hinds come down from the hills with a new message it will be as well to listen. – Brian Turner Poet, environmentalist, sportsman, journalist, ...
Survivors can choose to have former High Court judge Paul Davison assess their individual claims to tailor payments to their personal circumstances. ...
Are we too modest when it comes to celebrating our putrid plant life?She’s beauty. She’s grace. She smells like a decaying corpse and lurks in the backrooms of Auckland Zoo, wallowing tragically in a bucket. In recent weeks an Australian corpse plant named Putricia has captured the noses and ...
Politicians from the coalition government received a frosty reception at Waitangi this year, but Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says the pōwhiri that received so much attention was just one part of many events throughout the week. ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11230900
This off the Dim Post. Audrey Y at it (writing Key’s press releases) again.
I feel a complaint to the Press Council coming on.
Why dont you post audrey a wet bus ticket and save time.
Audrey’s from an impeccably Tory family.
Father was a long-time National MP for Miramar, brother-in-law is Mad Max Bradford (uber-Neo-Liberal end of the Bolger/Shipley Governments), sister Rosemary was a Wellington City Councillor (in the Prendergastian Right faction) a decade or so ago, while younger sister Nicola is a current Wellington City Councillor very much on the Thatcherite Right (recently penned a Dominion Post opinion piece on why the very idea of a living wage is abhorent. We don’t want those absolutely horrid little working class fellows getting above their station).
Audrey’s as Blue as a New Tatoo.
The collusion of charities in the dismantling of the welfare state
It’s about England and how the conservatives there are attacking welfare but we’re seeing the same things happening here.
Brand new car park ripped up.
The comments on this article and the Facebook link are generally supportive of this contractor standing up for his subs and himself after a dispute over costing with an developer in Christchurch. These disputes happen everyday and it seems the public are pretty aware that contractors and subbies are being shafted.
Ripping it up is the worst thing he could have done, he will get hammered for reinstatement.
The only thing you can do is get a letter drafted saying you will cease work until such time as all outstanding payments are up to date. Generally for Subbies at the end of a job the tactic is very effective as the threat of liquidated damages usually means payment is forthcoming.
Been there and done that with the recently demised nationwide main contractor got the ‘don’t expect to work for us again’ speech but got paid and as it turned out good riddance.
I do note it is interesting that it is a dispute over ‘how the job was costed.’ You have to hope he didn’t make a tendering error or similar and has painted himself into a corner. Having tendered a few projects for new countdown stores previously I do recall them having some interesting fine print and from memory at least one was a Gross Maximum Price tender where basically there is no going back for additional funds regardless.
Obviously the subcontractor agreement between the parties was less than black and white if there is a dispute of this nature as it seems more complex than outstanding progress claims..
Yeah I get the feeling he’s fucked up his quote.
Dumb and irrational move by that individual, all he’s done is kick himself in the nuts.
Because there was no analysis of the reason for the dispute, I was more interested in the effect the dispute had on Mr Te Amo and the public reaction to it.
The reaction is bigger than the dispute, almost to the level of one of those little tipping points where public dissatisfaction spills over into something much more, and depending on how part 2 plays out on the tv, it may do just that.
No one likes when a small contractor gets beaten up by a bigger one and it happens all to often. Especially when it comes to withholding final payments and retentions for as long as absolutely possible while the money sits in a bank account gathering interest. Doubt outside of some internet outrage much will come of it and even that may dissipate depending on the nuts and bolts of the dispute.
What will happen is regardless of the dispute he is going to get hammered for reinstatement costs and any associated liquidated damages.
It was probably the wrong thing for him to do but I suspect he’s going to get a lot of moral support over it.
The laws need to be changed so that contractors don’t get screwed over the way that they do now.
I would be in favour in a law that that required all payments, retentions etc being held in trust.
Once a claim has been made and approved by the client the trust pays the monies directly to the various parties rather than the current system which relies on the benevolence of the head contractor to pay subcontractors when due.
builders and designers now have a 10 year personal liability following any building they work opn. Developers dont.
So developers will continue to open a company, borrow money, draw salaries, build stuff, take the profit, close down and move on.”
Builders and designers can lose the house.
Change that law, make developers personally liable for ten years AND any trust they hold a beneficial interest in, and watch the cowboy developers drop like flies. leaving us with developers with well earned reputations for quality work and hiring.
So simple, but seemingly beyond the wit of our politicians… I wonder why (rhetorical)>
I think architects are off the hook too.
not sure. architects and engineers who are registered are regarded as licensed building practitioners
I won’t provide a link, but excuse my ignorance – who in hell is Jojo Maddren.
Should we know? Should we care?
But his/her political savvy appears to be non existent, yet she/he somehow gets opinion space on Stuff today … If you haven’t read it, don’t bother, – he/she is shallow as.
There now I hope I haven’t raised your curiosity – I probably shouldn’t have shared this.
On the other hand, if she/he is a captain of industry or someone who is believed to be of import, we should be concerned at the lack of intellect …
Okay here’s the link (have your bucket ready)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/what-issues-will-get-your-vote/9896499/Election-issues-National-have-my-vote
M
Jojo madden shares ‘their’ thoughts?
Yeah, spotted that, too, ffloyd. I presume this is a way of using a possessive adjective for one person whose sex is unknown, rather than ‘his/her’.
I would put quotation marks around the word ‘thoughts’ because there was not a high level of intellectual input in that reader’s remarks, especially in the over-blown praise of the PM.
At least it wasn’t a regular journo guilty of that hagiography of secular Saint John.
They refer to “the poor old Kiwi battler”.
I can’t say I’ve heard about the kiwi battler. Have heard about the “aussie battler”.
According to google and bing, “Jojo Maddren” exists nowhere in the internet but this article and talk about the article.
Which suggests to me the the article is an astroturfing construct by aussie marketing contractors. Which also suggests to me that it would have follow-up support in the comments as part of its release. So it’s quite possible that the few supporters of jjm are also paid marketers, and that the only real nzers offering their unpaid opinions think “jjm” is full of shit.
We can but hope 🙂
I use the term Kiwi battlers sometimes. Influenced by my time living in Aus.
Yep, quite a few kiwi journalists use the term. Usually in a fairly condescending way.
John Banks has been using it for years.
She may be a nonentity but oddly enough she puts her finger exactly on the argument Labour/Greens will have to counter in the upcoming election.
Meanwhile not getting many headlines is the fact that dairy prices have fallen 18% in 2 months, where dairy represents 30% of NZ’s exports. Here’s a link to this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231079
And here’s the same argument again.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/9898795/Labour-needs-sense-of-urgency
I agree that Labour needs a greater sense of urgency, especially since National already have it. National supporters are not complacent – they fear losing what they have gained under National, and lobby for them quite naturally. The older guy in the site shed, for instance, who has about five rentals and is thinking about taking an early retirement, saying authoritatively, “That bloody Cunliffe is useless.” Some of the South Auckland ministers who say they will go National, have quite possibly been treated to a deep-and-meaningful or two about how we must protect the morals of the young from the mad lefties, and so on.
While the policies Labour has released seem fine, we do not have anything so far that would give us that kind of immediate and direct leverage. I will hassle people to vote for them anyway, since I want to see the back of this government and I also think that the more members in caucus, the less traction there is for the Labour right. But it would be a whole lot easier if it was more obvious to people that their lives would be better under Labour – like the site shed guy in relation to National.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
That man could probably be persuaded to vote for Mana or the Greens.
Someone like that man may not view the Greens or Mana as being able to do all that much to help – Labour is still seen by many as the party that is able to take effective action on behalf of beleaguered people. The big question is whether or not it has the will to do so, and to what degree. The young and the politically engaged seem more inclined, on the whole, to go for the Greens or Mana.
I get the impression that he’s upset enough to take another look if someone points him in the right direction.
A passing observation. When I saw the TV1clip on TV last night my first impression was oh god… Waitakere Man having a red-neck moment. Then I watched the TV3 clip online and I saw a very hurt man – a man who perhaps has lost his job through no fault of his own and has been badly treated ever since. He’s at the end of his tether and I would like to see David Cunliffe approach him (if he can be identified) and listen to his story.
I haven’t seen either of the news clips of him but the Unemployment isn’t working was a jibe against Labour in the 1980s and that he also said that the “unions were dead and you killed them” (paraphrased) which makes me think he’s an old time Labour voter and he’s really, really pissed off.
DC was very wrong in his reaction there.
And Cunliffe should extract a winning line (good luck) from T.I.N.A. Parker for the stupid policy of increasing the age for superannuation ….. the framing has been set by Natz already and is being disseminated by Tory Woteva:
“Raising the pension age has turned into a story about making hard-working Kiwis work longer so a Labour government can spend more of their hard-earned taxes, according to National’s narrative.”
A schoolkid, I’m guessing, logie. Or maybe a a uni first year?
Tried to interpret the “settings” logie. Seems to be a soapbox where anyone can say what would get their vote. The Jo Maddren piece is pointless really. No issue other than he/she will vote National.
Maybe they are students? Hence Assignments.
It’s part of “Stuff Nation” – its a space for the public to make (unpaid) contributions to Stuff’s online presence.
What issues will get your vote is in the “assignments section.”
People need to register to participate.
The top of that list is currently this
Reading Jojo’s pfaff was one thing, then reading the comments, then reading that Stuff are basically sponsoring prejudice in NZ. Not a great start to the day.
Introducing Stuff Nation was a master stroke of the Stuff propaganda machine.
They say they are letting the public have an open voice in the MSM and everyone can contribute. Hard to argue with that and best to ignore the often right leaning regularity of published opinion because what makes the Stuff Nation contributions so interesting is they usually have comments open.
Over the 2 years (?) of this feature being active, the comments section on these pieces are often a lot more interesting and more well informed when compared to comments (and articles) elsewhere in the ‘newspaper’.
I wonder how many aliases Slater has used?
🙂 There does seem to be some similarities now you mention it.
… but does Slater know that many words?
I only ask because many of the comments are longer than Slater’s articles
hehehehe. I don’t think it would be a big stretch for him to pretend to be a student…
Doesn’t someone else write his copy?
Well, I know that BM copies his write (sic)…
It seems to be part of Stuff’s citizen journalist campaign.
Yeah but getting spanking in the feedback for the ‘in her mind’ drivel.
When I saw the title “National have my vote” I decided to not waste my time.
Film Tax Credits – Costly Giveaway to Hollywood
A recent “The Economist” (The Economist Jan 18 2014) has an article on “Corporate Welfare” a peculiar type of aid to the movie and television business which consists of USA states making interest free loans and tax credits to production companies.
Louisiana for example have a 40% Tax Credit available, while New York has a budget of $420m dedicated to film making.
The problem is how do you calculate the benefit a dollar spent on film as opposed one spent on other normal state services e.g. roads.
The article noted that Pinewood once a home to major British productions is opening a 288 acre facility in Georgia USA, citing its “great crew base” One would imagine the great crew come at a cheaper rate than back home in UK . The article further states that independent research finds that tax credits for film makers, serves mainly to help film makers.
One study in Louisiana found that for every dollar the state received in revenue from film production it spent $7.29 on credits. Furthermore jobs created by productions do not last.
Asking why the schemes are so popular they opine that partly because politicians like having their photo being taking with films stars.
Interesting that Michigan thought that pouring money into film makers pockets would offset job losses in the car industry. It didn’t and the project has been scaled back.
One wonders about the NZ reports that lauded the pouring of money into Hollywood as being so good for NZ. Of course I accept that our Prime Minister would never be so facile as to want his photo taken with film stars – would he.
For those interested in The Louisiana study you can find it here. Well worth reading
Film Funding
Interesting Matt McCarten innovation: Labour Caucus “war room”
Will be watching to see if this makes an impact.
Ha ha I laughed when I read this in this mornings NZH, there will be a few MP’s noses outof joint. I would not be surprised if there were no chairs for people to lounge around in, typical Matt it’s all hands on deck. Big fan of McCarten I love it!
So what’s with The Standard these days? Over the last couple of weeks, most of the content seems to be syndicated from other blogs, with only Mickey coming along with the same laughably wrong analysis he helps Cunliffe with and karol over analysing everything as a neoliberal conspiracy.
I would have thought that in an election year, the standardistas would be lining up to try take the govt down. Instead… Silence. And linking to those actually with something to say.
Seems like you’re giving up already, Lynn et al.
Maybe the contributors here have to work unlike Slater and Farrar who one way or another are paid to blog?
Kind of a relfection of the views each blog represents. The Standard has people who have to work for a living and can only champion causes in spare time, while KB and WO are actually well financed organs of politically aligned well-heeled personages? Just a thought. It does mean Open Mike is well used, and general commenters can draw attention tot heir own stuff.
maybe at WO and KB it’s very important to keep feeding the info from the top so the readers know what to “think” each day?
Aye Tracey.
The Standard has always survived on voluntary efforts from people with lives and jobs. If only the left had the same resources that Slater clearly enjoys …
Awww i love your blog envy Tracey or might i suggest infactuation the way you continue to bring up Slater, almost as amusing as your h ate filled John Key attacks
Actually many of us have joined the I am In campaign and working our buts off at the Coal face to get Labour (Green/Mana) elected.
Yet you still find the time to drop by and regale us with your “witticisms” Baron… Scoot back off to blubber boy where the quantity and “variety” of articles is clearly more to your liking.
“Over the last couple of weeks”
Stephanie Rodgers has written a number of post, and there have also been posts from Lynn, Bill, Bunji, Mike Smith and Geoff.
Some of the Notices and Features have been put up by ts authors as well, but it’s not as obvious as it used to be because the syndicated blogs are also put up under that login.
I’ve been enjoying the syndicated posts. Baron, not sure why you think that ts should be meeting your needs, but by all means keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.
Indeed weka, i was going to suggest that ‘the Borer’ arrived here at the Standard this morning with the bowl out begging for ‘a ticket to ride’…
“keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.” ROFL
Yes, well we don’t have the habit of KB and WO of simply quoting newspaper and other blogs with the off “indeed” interspersed. That appears to be the majority of their content
The posts on the site have always waxed and waned depending on who has time and capability to write. Over the past year, a number of previously active authors have been pulled into new roles where they don’t have time to write or where it is inadvisable for them to blog or where I consider that they have a conflict of interest. It takes time and effort to bring new authors on.
I’ve been busy. So has everyone else. Fortunately I have about 9 weeks of available holiday before september and Lyn is using most of hers up on film related stuff (that I avoid). My last projects is pretty well through both release and distribution. So that is probably going to change over the winter because I’m planning on taking most of it off to concentrate on this and a few other minor projects..
But as you say, we have a number of other sites that allow us to showcase their work. So we do in any area where none of our authors has covered the same issues or where it has been done from a different perspective. In the case of most of those sites, there are few or no comments normally. Are you saying that they shouldn’t be commented on here? That is what this site is for…
Stealing lines from Wayne now?
I have had a reply from the standards committee for media works over the complaint re the 5 March “3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. ”
Complaint was under fairness and accuracy.
They do go through the detail comprehensively.
They end up with:”The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint.”
Well they did consider the complaint and since they say that they had received complaints (plural) so maybe Paddy might be a bit more circumspect in the future. Maybe.
Did they give you their reasoning behind the decision?
thanks karol
FYI
(My comment – yet to be published).
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/auckland-rescue-helicopter-trust-loses-court-battle-funding-board-sf-154157
(“Although the helicopter trust agreed to drop further legal battles, it hasn’t dropped its complaint to Controller and Auditor-General Lyn Provost asking her to investigate the operations of the funding board, going back to 2009.”)
Don’t hold your breath waiting for NZ Auditor-General Lyn Provost to do anything – that’s my experience and considered opinion:
Seen this?
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/presented/petitions/50DBHOH_PET3196_1/petition-of-penelope-mary-bright-and-13-others-that-the
Petition of Penelope Mary Bright and 13 others
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into why New Zealand Auditor-General Lyn Provost did not disclose that she was a shareholder in Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd at the time she declined to conduct an urgent investigation into the failure of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand to carry out ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre (Bill) 2013.
Petition number: 2011/101
Presented by: Denis O’Rourke
Date presented: 12 March 2014
Referred to: Finance and Expenditure Committee
Why have there not been any MAN ON THE MOON headlines about this development – given that New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – (and all that garbage) ?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Note to Judith Collins…
This is how you deal with a conflict of interest… and note that even when you do it this way, it doesn’t look good… so imagine how it looks if you make no declaration
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11231136
I see the National Party run media has completley crossed the line now.
National were not happy with the way Amy Adams clear conflict of interest was reported. So they have gone straight in for the kill and muzzled the media, to the extent of completley turning the story around.
This is the kind of stuff you would expect in North Korea. But not here in New Zealand.
If you care about press freedom and civil rights in New Zealand, you must vote Green in September.
An email reply I just received re Patrick Gower’s reporting on Cunliffe:
Standards Committee standardscommittee@mediaworks.co.nz
10:20 AM (1 hour ago)
to me, Jodie
Dear Richard
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm. The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
That’s a really slippery standards check by TV3. Three significant bits, that really don’t address the ways the structure of the item, and the decision to make it newsworthy, are biased against Cunliffe in the way he will be seen by a large number of viewers:
1) dancing on a pin over the meaning/implication of the word “forced’
That’s totally misleading. It suggested someone focred Cunliffe to make the declaration when he didn’t want to – rather than chaning it himself when he became aware of the issues.
2)a) The use of the word “if” – how many viewers would take notice of its implications.
b) ommiting to tell viewers that the money wasn’t evenly divided is misleading the viewers:
3) failure to mention Nats missing the same deadline because Cunliffe’s Trusts issue had already become newsworthy – they fail to acknowledge that it was Gower’s (and others) previous news beat-ups that had led to this becoming “newsworthy”; they also fail to take into account that the two kinds of trusts (Cunliffe’s personal trusts, and the Labour leadership primaries trust), are two different things. They are misleading in connecting them.
I will keep you updated re my complaints about The Herald.
I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way. It must be a pain for them to have to respond (even if the “win”). And at some level if they keep getting these complaints they will think twice, simply for the nuisance factor of being complained against.
My complaints to the Herald were not responded to, so I went to the Press Council and they were informed by the Herald my email was “overlooked”. They asked for the chance to respond and guess what, I have heard nothing. Another 10 days runs out today at 5pm, so back to the PC.
“I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way”
I completely agree. If they get enough complaints then they will take more notice. That those complaints are being published and talked about on social media should make them take notice too.
Malicious. How can one get access to the reasons why people on benefits travelled overseas?
People looking for work in Aussie? People who had good reasons for travelling but failed to get approval fromWINZ?
21,000 people have benefit cut for travelling overseas.
Can’t live on it, can’t actually afford to look for work on it for that matter. This would indicate that the people going overseas while on the benefit are probably getting their money from somewhere or someone else. Perhaps they won the trip in competition.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
Yes relative of mine kept getting jobs and then contracts would run out and he would have to start the job hunt again. Another relative gave that person money to go and check things out in OZ.
They have had no trouble getting work over there.
Surely though are beneficiaries not allowed to go overseas? Have a break from looking for work. Most of us are allowed a holiday.
Many families now live in OZ and likely to pay for their down on their luck relative to have a break.
I personally think this thing of benefits cut for not notifying Winz etc, is against human rights.
This is simply a variation of Reagan’s classic “welfare Queens all drive Cadillacs” meme. Fucking Tories know the right buttons to push and keep pushing them.
Yep, it’s been a staple of beneficiary bashing by the RWNJs for decades now.
So true draco and cv – they have a limited playbook but it works mostly
Yep, and – most importantly – a sizeable section of the public just keep on lapping it up.
I cannot believe the propaganda levels today. That Bennett travel story was in the Herald, on Stuff, on Prime, on TV3 – I did not check out TV1. TV3 obediently reiterated the claim that people insist they can’t live on benefits but still manage to travel, along with the alleged $10 mill being saved by cutting their benefits. Then there was the TV3 story that South Auckland is going National, based on three individuals who said they had switched. Meanwhile, Stuff tells us that we are the most progressive people in the whole wide world. Are we going to have to endure this right through to the election, for God’s sake?
More than likely.
TV One gave two sides to the issue. Comment from an Auckland Action Against poverty spokesperson saying it’s more beneficiary bashing. Comment from Metiria Turei saying they are allowed up to 28 days abroad for special circumstances.
TV one also reported that about 4,488 people got their benefits cancelled because they failed to notify WINZ they were back in the country – that that brings the total figure down to 1,500 – what else?
I will have to start turning to TV1 – that at least sounds somewhat balanced. At the same time I’d like to know why Bennett’s press releases so frequently become news – these beneficiary bashing “news” items seem to appear with clockwork regularity.
I have heard that an older woman wanting to travel to Oz to see children was refused permission as she should be here in NZ looking for work. This shows the hypocritical lying attitude of right wingers who are always baying about family being vital, fathers being included, and so on, yet really do not care at all about the strength of families and their supportive human interaction.
It’s just the money involved in government helping other people’s families not exclusively their own. It would be better spent on being invested in their own where it would ensure they would grow up well educated and schooled in all the arts of being socially impressive so they can be the new elite.
Could it be that a sizeable portion are…looking for work?
Some will also be going over for health reasons, or to visit family. Visiting family might not sound like a reasonable decision, but what if you were a refugee who was isolated in the community, suffering from PTSD, and dreadfully homesick?
The seething mass that used to be compassion in this country is a distant memory.
Interesting stats on Chinese tourism from South China Morning Post of 2013. And on the rush of blood from being the tops, which was once the motivation for autocratic USA behaviour.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1187272/forbearance-rude-mainland-chinese-travellers
China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang in May 2013 acknowledged that “uncivilised behaviour” by its citizens abroad was harming the country’s image. He cited “talking loudly in public places, jaywalking, spitting and wilfully carving characters on items in scenic zones”. Destination countries have been easing visa restrictions to attract more tourists from China, but reports have emerged of complaints about etiquette.
Global tourism is being driven by mainland visitors, their numbers surging annually by double-digit percentages. Chinese are expected to become the biggest outbound market this year, overtaking Americans and Germans with 95 million trips and US$110 billion in spending. But while they are being welcomed with open arms by governments, they are not always as warmly greeted by locals. As in Hong Kong, manners and habits are criticised most…..
a widely circulated video of a Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee member in Yunnan province smashing an airport check-in counter in a fit of rage, the internet is awash with postings of how poorly behaved mainlanders can be when travelling
Those who think New Zealand is going to hell in a handbasket should instead be proud of our greatness.
Maybe they didn’t look very closely in some of the political, and everything is relative, but this is a good pat on the back for the quality of life in New Zealand.
did key get back to you on where he got his ece calculations yesterday.
No. If you get anything from ministers it can be weeks rather than days, if ever.
do you know where we were ranked 6′ 12, 18 years ago?
This is a new measure so it’s not possible to compare with previous years or centuries..
The top five countries are:
1. New Zealand
2. Switzerland
3. Netherlands
4. Iceland
5. Norway
Of course every country could be going backwards and we’re just deteriorating less, but this has to be a very positive accolade for New Zealand.
Just a pity then that our economic policies are so regressive. But the Herald and you won’t focus on that.
Change some social policies, but ramp up the neoliberal doctrine so NZ is rapidly becoming one of the most unequal countries in the OECD.
For 30 years NZers have been encouraged to turn away from looking at what’s been happening in the economic sphere..look at how the nuclear stand off puffed up our chests so much we forgot to worry what Roger Douglas was doing to the country.
But the owners of the Herald and many others in the media have benefited from the looting of the country and so continue to provide the propaganda that NZ is wonderful country to live in.
It may be for you Pete….but it’s not for the 285 000 kids in poverty.
In a Stuff article, the Greens are reported to have pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of the Index, and NZ’s scores. For instance, they pointed out, there are some gaps in the data included in the Index
And the last couple of sentences support some of the points I made in my Rogernomics post today.
There’s always weaknesses in indexes, and also in countries, but its worth striving to remain on top of the index.
I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.
As Greens say (and I’m sure have said before) there are things as important as economic well being.
“I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.”
I agree that violence must be addressed and it is all violence. The expression of violence is subtle and gross, obvious and hidden and should be intolerable in our society – but instead it is rampant and unrepentant. Once again we must look within ourselves to get to grips with that one.
Weaknesses: Basic needs, ranks 18th. (This includes affordable housing and electricity etc).
We can be grateful for our largely state-funded health and education system for a strong foundations of well-being score – the other top nations are similarly blessed with public provision. Our relatively progressively-minded population seems to account for the best score in the ‘Opportunity’ section, imo.
http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi#data_table/countries/spi/dim1,dim2,dim3
It’s also a problem creating checklists, without showing how things like (UN) affordable housing and power impact on people’s alility to take up opportunities in other areas of their lives.
Yes, It has no ranking for economic opportunity, from the looks of it. We also rank poorly on availability of affordable housing but high on private property rights – these affect people is quite different ways in terms of opportunities.
I also have a problem with the relative weighting of the variables. We don’t rank very well on ecosystem sustainability and the more I look into the health scores some are actually really poor. Life expectancy ranking probably pulls the score up.
Brian Fallow: Tax by backdoor an odious trick
No, I don’t normally read Brain Fallow but he’s got a point here – is National trying to put through a nasty bit of unannounced legislation to stop a few people from claiming back the GST that they’re entitled to?
This is a good news day:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1404/S00059/nz-ranked-worlds-most-socially-advanced-country.htm
Hope that puts a smile on your dial. Cue negative spin in 3…2…1…
Keep up, Blue. It’s already been discussed above.
Thanks Karol, missed it. You can’t blame me for being happy to live in the best country in the world. Least corrupt, most socially advanced, rock star economy. Wonderful.
Ask the people in that motor camp in Ranui if they are living in the best country in the world. They will have a different answer.
Hi Blue,
I hope you realise that many of the ‘socially advanced’ aspects were courtesy of left-wing initiatives? (Homosexual law reform and gay marriage – Labour and Louisa Wall; access to ‘advanced education’ (i.e., interest free student loans and student allowances) – Labour; public health and education systems – Liberal/Labour; public sanitation and water provision – public sector/local government, etc., etc.).
The clue to just what aspects of our society put us on top is the company we keep up there – once again it’s the Scandinavian countries (+ Switzerland) with their – still – more social democratic policies than anywhere else in the ‘western’ world.
Are you appreciative of those social democratic policies or do you support their undermining, as is the general policy direction of the current government?
It’s very odd that right wingers are trumpeting this result given that most of the means for rising up the ranks amount to left wing policy prescriptions.
The areas we do poorly on (obesity, suicide, environmental sustainability) are where we have succumbed to the modern consumerist and exploitative world.
In a supreme irony, the one ‘right wing’ mantra (private property rights) which NZ scores high in, is currently being bulldozed in Christchurch.
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance
How amusing that this Porter fellow who had so much to do in helping us reach the top of the slide that we are now burning our bums on in our downwards direction should have designed this index and finds we come out so high. Which doesn’t fit with the observable signs around us or the statistics and known facts of our situation.
I wonder how Japan would rate if it had been studied before Fukushima, and now? Which couldn’t happen as it is all new. But it would be a test of reality. Our reality indicates that we are like a theme park for the visitors to exclaim about, while we all wear masks with smiles. The occasional attack or death of a tourist is hushed up, the facts can’t get in the way of the alluring myths.
Yep, I thought the same thing when I saw that article.
The index did not measure pesky little details like unemployment or income inequality. What a joke.
Meanwhile, the top 0.1% of Americans doubled their share of wealth since the 1960s to over 20%:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231645
Must be a rogue poll, eh? Being constantly ignored by the media.
Labour/ Greens (45%) regain lead over National (43%) for first time since January while Mana Party & Internet Party discuss alliance
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5519-new-zealand-voting-intention-201404030447?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=5519
Yep Amirite and National down 2.5% to 43% means Hope still twinkles.
Greens on supermarket code of conduct:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1404/S00068/greens-compulsory-code-of-conduct-bill-for-supermarkets.htm
“The Green Party has launched legislation that will see a compulsory code of conduct brought in for New Zealand supermarkets and a fairer, more transparent system for New Zealand suppliers.”
Wow. Am about to have dinner and I think I like my greens even more 🙂
Funding is going to be lessened then withdrawn from long-term biosecurity research into the fruit fly etc. I think it has been going on too long for the government, which we know has a very instant gratification focus.
The facts are that scientists have made some breakthrough findings about fruit fly types (I’m not scientific but at least I do know that bio-s is important).
However they applied for funding and had their names on the wheel which was revolved and the pointer came down on someone else’s project. So these scientists are just bad losers and moaning on because they lost. Like they think they are important or something.
The Bio-Protection Research Centre, based at Lincoln University in Canterbury, has been told that it will receive no more money from the Tertiary Education Commission.
The grants are worth about $3.4 million a year to the research centre.
Bay of Plenty orchardist Chris Dunn says decisions like this are an example of the Government trying to give up responsibility for bio-security.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240643/fruit-fly-'key-reason'-for-funding-research
Another fruit fly found at Whangarei. There is a big marina there, popular stopping place and presumably there will be attention to this possible site of incursion?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240634/labour-wants-some-fruit-from-australia-banned
Labour wants some fruit from Australia banned
The male Queensland fruit fly was found on Tuesday in a surveillance trap in the harbour suburb of Parihaka. It was caught just 400 metres from where another was found in January this year….
Labour’s spokesman for primary industries Damien O’Connor said the latest incursion shows there is a pathway for the pest into Whangarei that has yet to be identified and the Government’s lack of action is putting the horticulture sector in grave danger.
I notice that my Mozilla Firefox is still saying Hello World.
Refresh
Hit shift + F5.
No nothing happens. I can’t get into TS – only on Opera.
I heard Sue Moroney on the radio trying to counter the story from Paula Bennett’s side regarding the people on benefits taking trips overseas and having their benefits suspended.
I had a couple of concerns
1) Her talking to the issue gave the issue legs. The radio was making a story of how Labour had responded to it
2) Labour was clearly on the wrong side of that issue in terms of public opinion unless it was willing to come out and go “We’d hit them harder!”. Defending Beneficiaries rights to have their trips overseas paid for by relatives is something the Greens can do, but Labour has too many current or potential working class supporters who haven’t been overseas for years because they can’t afford it.
3) She had a bit of difficulty staying on message in her response to the story. It is a tricky one because this is a straight forward trap set by the National strategy team – but you have to be prepared.
Regarding the social progress story I think claiming it as Labour’s is an OK way to go – it is also a good point in that these things are not things you turn on a dime – they are the result of decades of policies and other factors.
A more subtle way to do that is to highlight how NZ and the more socialist Nordic countries always top these studies instead of the USA etc.
The latest Roy Morgan poll:
Labour/ Greens (45%) regain lead over National (43%) for first time since January
National………..43 per cent (down 2.5),
Labour………….32 (up 0.5),
Green…………..13 per cent (down 1),
NZ First…………5.5 (up 2),
Cons. Party…….2.5 (up 1),
Maori Party…….1.5 (down 0.5),
Act………………..0.5 (no change),
United Future….0.5 (unchanged),
Mana……………..0.5 (up 0.5),
Internet…………0.5 (up 0.5).
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5519-new-zealand-voting-intention-201404030447
This is also significant:
“Of all electors surveyed 5.5% (up 1.5%) didn’t name a party.”
And government confidence is down…
There could possibly be something in this. Or not. But I live in eternal hope…
It is the worm. The turning worm I think.
Hopefully, people are beginning to see through National’s evil policies, lies and bullshit.
Here…http://sub-sub-zpolitics.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://s-zpolitics.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://sub-z-p.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://subzpsubzp.blogspot.co.nz/
Heree…….http://sub-zero-politics.blogspot.co.nz/